Workshop: Acqusition, Processing, and Analysis of Declassified CORONA Satellite Imagery

This free workshop explores technical aspects and research applications of declassified, Cold War-era CORONA satellite imagery. In operation from 1960-1972, the CORONA satellite program collected over 860,000 images across the entire globe, all of which are now publicly available through the USGS. These extraordinary, high-resolution images preserve a unique picture of the world as it appeared a half-century ago, and have become a critical research tool in archaeology, environmental science, geography and other disciplines. Despite the unrivaled value of CORONA for global-scale landscape reconstruction, technical challenges involved in correcting the extreme spatial distortions contained in raw imagery has long presented a hurdle to researchers.

This workshop, led by the directors of the CORONA Atlas Project, Prof. Jesse Casana (Dartmouth) and Prof. Jackson Cothren (University of Arkansas), will offer training in all aspects of using CORONA imagery. From acquiring the best images, to correcting distortions using a powerful new online service called Sunspot, to stereo analysis and surface model generation, the workshop will provide participants with all the skills needed to unlock the hidden potential of CORONA imagery and to apply this resource in their own research.

There is no cost to participate in the CORONA workshop, but space is limited so registration is required. The workshop is made possible through support from the American Council of Learned Societies and is hosted by the the UC San Diego Library, in collaboration with the Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies (CAST) at the University of Arkansas and the Spatial Archaeometry Lab (SPARCL) at Dartmouth College.

Future workshops will be held at the University of Arkansas.

Preliminary Schedule

Tuesday, May 15th:

9-10:30am CORONA Imagery 101

History of the CORONA program

Research Applications of CORONA imagery

Technical aspects of CORONA sensors and imagery

Practicum #1: Selecting and acquiring CORONA images from EarthExplorer

10:30-11am Coffee Break

11-12:30pm Sunspot and CORONA Orthorectification

Photogrammetry Theory

Correcting distortions in CORONA imagery